


What Matters is You

by blackfin



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-19
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-15 15:02:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4611156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackfin/pseuds/blackfin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While driving home through a snowstorm one evening, Aoba has a bit of a mishap and crashes Mink’s truck into a ditch. He’s not hurt but his pride has taken a bit of a beating. Cold, achy and terribly embarrassed, Aoba has to wait for Mink to come get him and, even though he knows Mink won’t be angry, he still is not looking forward to being confronted with what has happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Matters is You

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift for tumblr user ahmerst!

If embarrassment could hurt, he would be on the ground screaming in agony. 

Standing by the side of the road with snow drifting lazily around him and Ren clasped tightly to his chest as his entire body shivered, Aoba looked down at the truck which was currently sticking its hind end out of a ditch with its hazard lights flashing in a constant, steady rate and wished that there was a hole he could just crawl into for a very long while. 

The truck was Mink’s and Aoba had borrowed it for the day since the bakery he worked at was moving to a different building which meant a lot of stuff needed to be moved as well. Aoba, with Mink’s permission, had offered the services of the truck to the owner of the bakery so that they wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of renting a moving van. The owner had happily agreed, Aoba had used the truck successfully throughout the majority of the day to haul the cargo over to the new location but by around four in the afternoon, trouble had struck in the form of fast falling snow which had quickly covered everything in a white, dusty layer. 

The remainder of the moving operation had been called off for the time being and Aoba had been instructed to go home before the storm got too bad. He, of course, had agreed to that since he didn’t like driving the path that led to their home in normal conditions and knew he definitely wouldn’t like it when it was snowing. So, he had set off home with Ren in the passenger’s seat, safely buckled in and spent the short time he was driving wondering what he should make for dinner. He knew Mink was most likely already home as it was his day off and, even though he had had a few errands to run, he should have already been done.

He had made it a good distance up the mountain when one of his back tires hit a particularly slippery patch of road. The wheels had spun out, causing the back end to swerve - Aoba had tried to get everything under control but it had turned out to be too late and before he even knew what was happening, they were in the ditch. Neither he nor Ren had been badly hurt - Aoba could tell nothing was broken and it didn’t feel like he was bleeding from anywhere but knew he probably had bruises all down his front from where the seat belt had restrained him. The truck, on the other hand, was not in that good of shape. 

Aoba had tried several times to get the damn thing to start but it would just cough, sputter and then die. The front of the truck was dented and one of the back wheels was bent very much out of place - Aoba guessed that he must have hit something on the way down. Even if he could get it started, there was no way he would actually be able to drive it anywhere. Utterly defeated and extraordinarily embarrassed, he had climbed out of the ditch, walked to the edge of the road where Ren was calmly sitting, scooped him up into his arms and looked down at the disaster before him. 

“What should we do, Ren?” he asked after several moments of quiet. 

“It would be best to try and contact Mink.” Ren replied, turning back slightly to look up at Aoba, “It isn’t wise for you to be out here for too long. Weather reports indict the snow fall will not be stopping for another few hours and the temperature is predicted to drop into single digits by six tonight.”

Glancing at his coil, he saw that it was already five. Sighing softly, Aoba shifted Ren’s weight onto his other arm before mournfully punching in Mink’s number into his coil. He knew Mink wouldn’t be upset or angry - these kinds of things were inevitable but still, it was something of Mink’s that he had been trusted with and he had ruined it. Even if Mink wouldn’t be angry, Aoba couldn’t help to feel overwhelmingly embarrassed and guilty. He should have been paying more attention to the road, he shouldn’t have panicked when the car had started to slip, he probably shouldn’t have even tried to drive home in the first place - there was so much he could have done and shouldn’t have done but had. 

Sighing again and feeling slightly ashamed at how he was acting, Aoba braced himself and hit the call button. The line rung once before Mink answered. 

“Where are you?” Was the first thing he said, his voice low and, to Aoba’s surprise, slightly worried. 

Aoba swallowed hard before answering, “I think I’m just a little ways down from the fork.” He hadn’t intended for his voice to shake so much but it seemed as though he hadn’t entirely calmed down yet. 

“What happened?”

Flinching slightly, he replied, “I...I crashed.” The guilt and embarrassment were more than evident in his voice. Now more than ever, he just wanted to crawl underneath the truck and stay there until summer came.

“Are you still in the truck?”

“No, I got out.”

“Can you safely get back in?”

“Yes, I think so but I’ve already tried to get the truck started. I’m sorry but I think-” 

“Get back in the truck.” Mink interrupted him, his voice firm. “There are some blankets in the back, wrap yourself up. Stay put. I’m on my way.”

“Eh?! Mink, what-” The line suddenly went dead. Mink had hung up. 

Blinking several times in surprise, Aoba supposed he shouldn’t be. After all, how else was he going to get home? Their house was still a little ways away - there was no way he could walk that, especially not in this weather. But the only vehicle they had left was the motorcycle, how well was that going to do on these slippery, snowy roads? What if Mink got hurt? What if he crashed on the way? Crashing in a truck was one thing but Mink could seriously be hurt if he-

“Aoba.” Ren’s voice broke through his thoughts, “Mink instructed us to get back into the truck. We should do so and try to get warm.”

He hadn’t realized how cold he was until Ren mentioned something. His entire body was shivering and there was a disconcerting numbness spreading through his appendages. Nodding, he carefully walked over to the edge of the ditch and, hanging on tightly to Ren, slid down. Thankfully, the ditch wasn’t that deep or steep so getting in and out was easy. Getting into the truck wasn’t that difficult either - maneuvering inside was a bit tough but Aoba, after having done it twice now, slid into the front seat without much incidence. He found the blankets in the back just like Mink had said and quickly wrapped them both up in two of them. 

Once he had settled down, he started rubbing his chest gingerly. He was going to have some nasty bruises, that much he could tell. It didn’t feel like anything else was wrong - he could breathe alright, all of his fingers and toes worked just fine and he wasn’t experiencing any dizziness, nausea or headaches. Other than having a slight bit of chest, stomach and neck pain as well as being quite cold, he didn’t feel that bad. He had certainly endured worst in the past. 

The blankets didn’t provide much warmth nor did the interior of the truck but with some careful rubbing and by curling up his body as tight as it would go, he was able to generate some heat. Not enough to stop the shivering but some feeling, mostly pins and needles, came back into his extremities. Luckily for him, he was only in that kind of uncomfortable position for a short while. 

Not fifteen minutes later, he heard the familiar hum of Mink’s motorcycle. The silent, snowy night was quickly filled with the low rumble of the bike that was steadily approaching. 

“That was quick,” Aoba murmured, “were we actually that close?”

“Mink could take a road that was inaccessible by regular vehicles.” Ren spoke up from his lap, “This shortcut is safer to traverse than the main road during non-optimal conditions and also cuts down the time spent driving by ten minutes.”

“I see.” He replied softly, feeling relieved that Mink hadn’t put himself in that much danger just to come and get him. 

Knowing that there was no point in looking out the back window or any of the mirrors, Aoba leaned back in his seat and listened as the rumbling drew closer. Being inside the truck made it hard to discern just how close or far the bike was so when light suddenly flooded the cab, Aoba near about jumped out of his skin in surprise. 

“Aoba, are you alright?”

“Yes,” he replied, feeling slightly ashamed at being scared so easily, “just startled me is all.”

Giving his head a little shake, Aoba leaned back in his seat, took a deep breath and blew it out as a steamy cloud that swirled around his head before vanishing. He wasn’t sure if he should get out to meet Mink or wait until Mink came down to him. The decision, however, was made for him when he heard the distinctive crunching of heavy boots against snow coming up from alongside the truck which was quickly followed by the driver side door being wrenched open. 

“Are you hurt?” Was the first thing out of Mink’s mouth as he leaned down into the cab, reaching out one hand towards Aoba’s face. His golden eyes were heavy with worry, his brows were furrowed but the hand that rested on his cheek was steady. 

“I’m a little banged up but nothing serious.” Aoba tried to smile in an attempt to reassure Mink but was sure he failed miserably. He leaned into Mink’s touch, the heat and brush of his skin against his own felt so good, “I’m so sorry, Mink.” he said, the smile dropped from his face and his voice began to shake, “It’s my fault, I wasn’t-”

Mink dismissively waved his other hand before leaning down a bit further, sliding his arm quickly underneath Aoba’s legs while the other snaked around his back - in one graceful movement, he lifted Aoba up and out of the cab. Yelping in surprise, Aoba clung into Mink’s shoulder with one hand and reached down to secure Ren in place with the other. 

“Mink, what are you doing?!” he squawked, “I can walk, please put me down!”

His comment was ignored as Mink closed the door with his foot before turning and striding up out of the ditch. The bike was still running, its dull rumble echoing through the night. Settling him down on the back, Mink knelt down in front of him and began to gently press down on his legs in various locations. The light emitted from the headlight was just enough to illuminate the surrounding area, making visibility low but enabling him to still be able to see Mink clearly. 

“Mink, I’m okay. I promise. I was walking around just fine earlier. I can move my toes and fingers, see?” Aoba held out his hand and wiggled his fingers. There wasn’t any pain but the numbness was still there. He hoped that wasn’t a sign of anything being broken - he didn’t think it was, though he wasn’t entirely certain.

Mink looked up, gazed quietly into Aoba’s face for several moments, his eyes searching, looking for any hint that he was lying or not telling him everything before sighing heavily, pushing himself back up, shedding the heavy coat he was wearing and draping it around Aoba’s shivering shoulders. 

“Eh?” Aoba quickly glanced down at the coat before looking back up at Mink, “What about you?”

“I’ll be fine.” Was Mink’s short, firm reply. There were two helmets – one resting on the front seat and the other hanging off one of the handle bars. Mink took the one from the handle bar, pushed it into Aoba’s hands and then picked up the pair of gloves that were beside the helmet on the front seat.

“But-” Aoba started, playing idly with the helmet’s strap.

Mink silenced him with a single glance - one that wasn’t hard or accusing but more one that told Aoba there was no point in arguing. Frowning deeply, he pulled the coat tight around him before burying his face into the warm fabric. It was still warm. The heat seeped quickly into his shivering body, helping to still the quakes and shakes of his limbs. 

“I’m sorry, Mink.” His voice was muffled, and the shame, embarrassment and guilt he had felt earlier overwhelmed him once again. Gripping the edges of his coat tightly in his hands, he buried his face even deeper, trying his best to hide inside of Mink’s coat. Swinging one leg over the motorcycle so he was in the proper position, he turned his head away from Mink. The coat smelled strongly of him – a distinct, peaceful cinnamon scent that quickly surrounded him. 

“Its fine, Aoba.” There was nothing accusing in Mink’s voice - no harshness to indicate he was angry or upset. It wasn’t like he expected him to be but there was a small part of him that almost wished he was. The accident had been his fault - he had been careless, hadn’t been paying enough attention, hadn’t reacted correctly when the car had started to go out of control. It was his fault that Mink’s truck was nose down in a ditch, broken and quiet. 

But, that didn’t seem to bother Mink at all. He was calmly putting on the gloves and Aoba was sure he hadn’t even glanced at the damage the truck had sustained in the crash. Did it just not matter to him?

“Mink...” He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. He wasn’t even sure how he felt. Maybe he was still just so shaken up from the crash that he couldn’t get his thoughts together but shouldn’t Mink say something, anything about the truck he had just ruined? Anything about how he should have been more careful, more diligent? 

“It’s a truck, Aoba.” Mink’s soft, soothing voice shook him out of his thoughts. 

Confused, Aoba lifted his head. With one more tug to the left glove, Mink flexed his fingers before settling a calm, gentle gaze on Aoba. His golden eyes were warm as he leaned down slightly so he and Aoba were at eye level. 

“It can be fixed. And, if need be, it can be replaced. You, however,” he reached up to gently stroke a gloved clad thumb along Aoba’s cheek, “cannot.”

With that, he leaned across and pressed a warm, gentle, soft kiss against Aoba’s shivering lips. Aoba immediately melted – pressing forward, he reached up to lightly cup Mink’s jaw in his hands. Mink’s familiar taste laced through his mouth as their lips slid together. Heat pooled in his cheeks as a defined, pleasant sweetness filled his chest. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds before Mink pulled away and straightened back up. 

“More than anything,” Mink spoke up once again, his voice quiet and terrifyingly sincere, “I am just glad that you are safe and unharmed. Nothing more than that matters to me.”

Aoba stared up at Mink in surprise for several moments before quickly looking down at his hands as heat bombarded his face. He wasn’t used to such honest, open words like that coming from Mink. It wasn’t like it was wholly shocking to hear them but still, it was rare. Blinking rapidly as his heart thudded wildly in his chest; he let his chin sink a bit lower before he yanked the helmet onto his head to hide how much he was blushing and mumbled out, “Thank you, Mink.”

Mink grunted in response as he climbed onto the rumbling bike. Once Mink was settled, Aoba pressed up against his back, looped one arm around his mid-section (the other went to hold Ren securely in place) and snuggled his face into his shoulder. Mink gave his hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze before sliding on his own helmet, pushing the kickstand back into place, switching the gears over and carefully started their journey through the quiet, snowy night towards home.


End file.
